Pitching lets Red Sox down again in series-opening loss to Yankees

NEW YORK -- Go ahead and blame the Red Sox' train wreck of a season on an injury epidemic that has put 25 players on the disabled list.

After all, that's the most common explanation provided by most players and manager Bobby Valentine.

But another matchup between the fast-fading Red Sox and the front-running New York Yankees brings the real problem into 20/20 focus.

It's all about the pitching.

In the latest not-nearly-good-enough start by a Red Sox pitcher, Franklin Morales (AP photo, right) allowed four solo home runs in 5-1/3 innings Friday night in a 6-4 loss at Yankee Stadium. In all, the Yankees went deep five times, burying the Red Sox even deeper in both the AL East and the wild card standings.

Between them, Red Sox starters have a 4.84 ERA, fourth-worst in the AL and better than only the Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and Minnesota Twins, each of whom are bound for losing records.

Is it any wonder the Sox, at 58-62, have won as many as four games in a row only once since the middle of June? Even if the players got along so well with Valentine that they all held hands during the “Star-Spangled Banner,” a winning streak isn't sustainable without better pitching.

"When you talk about the pitching," Valentine said, "the only thing it has kind of stressed us on is we've played, I think, an abnormal amount of games where we've been behind early. I think it stresses the offense, and our offense has been challenged at times."

Meanwhile, the Yankees haven't been immune to injuries. On the contrary, they lost indomitable closer Mariano Rivera for the season in early May and have been without third baseman Alex Rodriguez, lefties CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte, left fielder Brett Gardner and reliever David Robertson for stretches.

But the Yankees' starting pitchers have a 4.05 ERA, enough of a lifeboat to keep them from sinking.

"They're deep," David Ortiz said. "They have A-Rod and Mariano out. Have you noticed? No. Because they keep winning."